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Este informe no está disponible en español. CARIBBEAN BUSINESSFavorable fourth quarter results pour in; it’s all smiles at Doral, First BanCorp, Oriental, & R-GInstitutions benefited from low interest rates, consumers went for the low mortgage ratesBy KEN OLIVER-MENDEZJanuary 24, 2002 Four prominent local financial institutions reported record-breaking earnings and asset growth during fourth quarter 2001 (4Q 2001). Earnings growth alone among the four institutions--Doral Financial Corp., First BanCorp, Oriental Financial Group, and R-G Financial Corp.--ranged from 35% to 285% compared to profits during the same period a year ago. A common thread running through all four reports was that the institutions benefited substantially from the historic low interest rates in 2001, saw major gains in mortgage loan production and implemented expansion plans for their increasingly varying lines of business. Doral posts 87% increase in earnings Doral Financial Corporation, the holding company of Puerto Rico’s largest residential mortgage lender and fastest growing commercial bank, reported impressive results for 4Q 2001. Doral Financial’s 4Q net income reached $42.5 million, an 87% increase over the $22.7 million reported for 4Q 2000. The corporation’s earnings per diluted share for 4Q 2001 were $0.83, compared to $0.48 per diluted share for 4Q 2000, a 73% increase. The volume of mortgage loan production for 4Q 2001 was $1.2 billion, compared to $792 million for the comparable 2000 period, a 52% increase. Altogether, the volume of mortgage loan production for calendar 2001 was $4.2 billion, an increase of 31% over the $3.2 billion reported for calendar 2000. The corporation’s assets rose from $5.5 billion in 4Q 2000 to $6.7 billion in 4Q 2001, while stockholders’ equity increased from $506 million in 4Q 2000 to $762 million in 4Q 2001. Doral Financial Chairman of the Board and CEO Salomon Levis said that the corporation achieved a series of milestones in 2001, including record book value of Doral’s common stock at year end, which increased 48% over Dec. 31, 2000. First BanCorp’s 35% jump in 4Q earnings First BanCorp, parent company of Puerto Rico's second largest commercial bank, reported earnings of $24 million for 4Q 2001, a 35% increase over the $17.7 million reported a year ago for 4Q. The year ended Dec. 31 saw First BanCorp rack up total record earnings of $86 million, compared to $67.3 million during the year 2000, a 28% increase. Net interest income increased by $45.3 million for the calendar year, ending 2001 at $236.1 million. The net interest income increase was the result of volume increases of $1.3 billion in First BanCorp's average loan and investment portfolios, as well as improvement in the net interest margin. During 2001 First BanCorp experienced hefty asset growth, ending the year with assets of $8.2 billion, up 39% from total assets as of Dec. 31, 2000 of $5.9 billion. Deposits were $4.1 billion for 2001, as compared to $3.3 billion for 2000. Loans increased to $4.3 billion as of Dec. 31, 2001, as compared to $3.5 billion in 2000, mostly as a result of an increase of $822 million in commercial loans and residential real estate loans Oriental earnings spike upwards by 285% Oriental Financial Group reported 4Q 2001 net income of $10.4 million, a whopping 285% increase compared to its 4Q 2000 net income of $2.7 million. Reflecting Oriental’s aggressive expansion of its banking business--within its ongoing strategy to position itself as a leading financial services provider--deposits registered 27% growth, rising from $690 million in 4Q 2000 to $875 million in 4Q 2001. Oriental’s total financial assets increased 18% to $4.8 billion in 4Q 2001, compared to $4.1 billion for 4Q 2000. Net loans receivable increased 25%, from $451 million in 4Q 2000 to $562 million in 4Q 2001. Stockholders’ equity as of Dec. 31, 2001 was $132 million, a 20% increase over the $110 million reported for Dec. 31, 2000. R&G racks up 67% earnings increase R&G Financial Corp. also reported record earnings for 4Q 2001, with net income climbing by 67%, from $12.1 million in 4Q 2000 to $20.1 million in 4Q 2001. Gain on the origination and sale of loans at R&G increased 40% to $18.2 million for 4Q 2001, compared to $13 million in 4Q 2000. For calendar year 2001, the corporation’s gain on the origination and sale of loans increased 52% to $62.5 million, while R&G’s net interest income increased by 49% to $97 million. Total loan production during calendar 2001 for the holding company of Puerto Rico’s second largest mortgage lender was $2.5 billion, a 41% increase, while internal loan production amounted to $2.4 billion, a 62% increase and 96% of R&G’s total loan production, reported to be among the highest proportion of internally generated loans to total loan production in the nation. R&G Financial’s total assets climbed from $3.5 billion in 4Q 2000 to $4.7 billion in 4Q 2001, while deposits rose from $1.7 billion to $2.1 billion between the same periods. Stockholders’ equity rose from $309 million in 4Q 2000 to $459 million in 4Q 2001. This Caribbean Business article appears courtesy of Casiano Communications.
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